Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: In this paper, we apply MaxSAT to a system built around a physical binary sorter that functions as a load balancer between warehouses. We study a sorter operating in real time on 4.5 million elements per year. The optimization task is to minimize the switching needed to route a sequence of elements, under an arbitrary binary function that constrains the achievable load balance. The case study is drawn from a company operating hundreds of such sorters, which are essential to its internal logistics. We examine the problem from both theoretical and practical perspectives: we present an online model, analyze its properties, and evaluate several implementations across different scenarios. Experiments show switching reductions of 63 and 48% for two problem variants in a partial information setting.
Source: Annals of Operations Research
Institution: Universitat de Lleida
Language: English
Subfield: Computer Networks and Communications
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,090
Awards: G1175115578, G1766879247, G1855990336, G2064873908, G2262748287, G2309174360, G2585926585, G2660406951, G288263039, G3005324705, G300979063, G3480869486, G4210707261, G425668148, G430777504, G4856835896, G5080475149, G5421974903, G5852091828, G586857820, G7084143925, G743068162, G7772292, G8434830731, G8920660035, G99296377
OpenAlex ID: W7127351558